Vince McMahon Fired: How the WWE Became Must-See TV

Last night, Vince McMahon was fired, and the WWE became must see TV.

For now, the WWE cynic in all of us can take a backseat to the hopeful optimistic that we want to be. For now, and hopefully a while, the young fan in us that remembers wrestling from back when can savor the flavor of a WWE product that is working.

This can all end in an instant. No company has killed more compelling storylines than the WWE, but for now, we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt as they continue to feed our need for riveting television as they abandon the gimmicks, tricks and philosophies that have watered down their product in the last four or five years and are reinventing the wheel of storytelling in professional wrestling.

The idea that a company that has done everything could be bringing anything new to the game is a novel concept. The WWE has tried, succeeded and failed at every conceivable angle or gimmick, but Punk’s  storyline, which started nearly a month ago, is a brand new idea.

It goes against every natural tendency the WWE has, and it’s using the gimmicks that great writers have used for years to draw an audience in, and keep them there.

The WWE is playing to the highest intelligence level of their audience. The WWE we have come to criticize most often would have let Vince McMahon fire John Cena last night.

While it’s wholly unbelievable, it’s the natural tendency to think short term. Nothing else matters but the show tonight, right?

The WWE was aware that firing Cena isn’t just an old gimmick, but a tired one at that. The WWE universe, in its real or televised state, would never actually allow their media darling a free pass to walk onto a rival promotion.

So the WWE squashed that idea. But rather than have McMahon back track (something his character has proven himself inept at doing), he was fired instead.

The WWE, like with McMahon, has been using the art of misdirection to perfection. They have been selling their audience on the same ole’ WWE, but just as you are pot committed to believing in the old tried and tired you are given something you didn’t expect.

You expected the same heel promo from CM Punk three weeks ago, but instead used the truth to set twitter and YouTube ablaze.

You expected that the stipulation of Cena being fired, especially with Punk’s contract status being real, that Cena would retain the belt, or at the very least, CM Punk wouldn’t leave Chicago as the champion.

Yet there Punk went, out the Allstate Arena’s doors and into streets of Rosemont as the WWE champion.

The WWE is allowing their product to exist in the real world, and they are pulling from that to create such rich and scintillating storylines. Social media and Internet forums have been a particularly popular thing for the WWE universe, and now the WWE is taking full advantage of those vehicles.

Never once was Triple H mentioned as an executive of the WWE, but the Internet wrestling community is fully aware of his involvement. So there was Triple H last night, high end suit, ready to take over as Chairman of the WWE.

Make no mistake either, that the WWE universe isn’t just gleaning information from social media in regards to what fans do and do not know. They are using social media to advance their product and again blur the lines of what is real and what is not.

CM Punk posted a series of pictures yesterday with the WWE belt(some of which was picked up by TMZ) and John Cena issued a public apology to the Rock on Twitter, as well as asked for support to have him reinstated. The Rock urged for reinstatement but rejected the apology.

For years the WWE attempted to ignore the Internet Wresting community as a viable market, but now they have learned that the best way to tell their story is by manipulating those same channels that they rejected for so long.

Perhaps most important about the WWE is that they are slow playing their story. It’s not an easy thing for anyone telling a story to do. The climax is the thing.

It’s the part of the story your audience is dying to get to, and it’s the part of the story you are dying to tell, but the WWE isn’t rushing to get to the “good stuff” and instead understanding that they are drawing their audience in.

Rather than bring CM Punk back last night and have Cena fired the WWE is taking their time. A champion can wait. Mr. McMahon’s firing couldn’t.

The WWE is doing what any great drama does, they are building suspense by giving you pieces of the story and new wrinkles every week. The WWE is practicing patience, and it’s creating a better product.

They are pulling in human emotion and they are allowing the story to unfold.

The worry is that the WWE will get anxious and blow the story out of the water at the first sign of trouble. The moment RAW’s ratings dip, or the pop isn’t as loud, the WWE will pull Punk back on the show, reinstate McMahon and fire Cena, just to grab headlines.

The WWE must resist the urge to balk at any sign of trouble. For the first time in a long time the WWE has a product that is fascinating to watch. They must trust in what they are creating and look at the bigger picture.

What they are doing has the world talking. Now is not the time for trust.

Maybe the WWE didn’t know what they had when CM Punk cut his epic promo. The WWE has been known to throw things at the wall to see if it sticks, but they know they have something now.

It’s must see tv and it has been an absolute pleasure to watch. They have started a great story. Let’s hope they know how to finish it.